Azure and Maheswari Mining bag 85MW of solar in Assam

Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) has awarded 85MW of solar capacity to be built in the Northeast Indian state via a reverse auction held last month.

Indian developer Azure Power has bagged a 75MW project at a weighted average tariff of INR3.37/kWh (US$0.052/kWh) and has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The project will be developed outside a solar park and is expected to be commissioned in 2019.

Meanwhile, Maheswari Mining and Energy, a Telangana-based company, also won 10MW of capacity.

APDCL had originally floated tenders for installation of 100MW (4X25MW) ground-mounted solar plants under a Build Own Operate (BOO) basis in four separate regions spread across the state of Assam. A total of fourteen bid submissions were made.

This week, Indian developer Acme Solar announced it has won a 50MW solar PV project in the state of Uttar Pradesh with a tariff of INR3.38/kWh (US$0.05) via an auction held by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The tariff is almost level with that of Azure in Assam.